Don't have a heart attack, peep's, but yes. I have updated. I know, crazy huh? Welps I'm happy with this chapter and I think it's one of the longer ones I've written so I hope that you guys are happy with it too.

Thanks to lyrabelaqua for being my beta, you rock.

I hope everyone has their hair still, I've heard pulling it out is kinda painful so I would STRONGLY advise agaisnt it!

Alright, I hope everyone is good and golden. Leave me some reviews to let me know how ya like it!

You. You were a friend. You were a friend of mine I let you spend the night
You see how it was my fault. Of course it was mine.
I'm too hard at work. Have you ever heard of anything so absurd ever in your life.
I'm sorry for wasting your time.

Who am I to say this situation isn't great? It's my job to make the most of it
Of course I didn't know that it would happen to me. Not that easy.

Hey what's that you say? You're not blaming me for anything that's great
But I don't break that easy. Does it fade away?
So that's why I'm apologizing now for telling you I thought that we could make it
I just don't get enough to believe that we've both changed.

Well neither one of us deserves the blame because opportunities moved us away
And it's not an easy thing to learn to play a game that's made for two that's you and me
The rules remain a mystery. See it can be easy.

Who am I to say this situation isn't great? It's our time to make the most of it
How could we ever know that this would happen to me, not that easy, no
All along the fault is up for grabs and there you have it
Well it's for sale go make your offer, I'll sell it for no less than what I bought it for
Pay no more than absolutely zero.
Jason Mraz- Absolutely Zero

"Here," Hermione heard before a large book was dropped into her lap. It had been a week since Draco and Harry had gotten into 'The Fight' in the Great Hall. All the bruises had faded from both of them and Harry was still talking to her, which was a miracle in itself.

"What's this?" she asked as she held it up and inspected it: "'What are you: the complete beginners guide to becoming an animagus'." It looked familiar but she couldn't place it.

"It's the book you bought in Hogsmeade a while back."

Hermione stared up at him and the title registered. She'd bought the book to research the subject before she asked Professor McGonagall some questions about the process of becoming one.

"You've had this book this whole time?" she demanded, clutching the book to her chest and standing up quickly, "Do you know how long I've been looking for it?"

"I'm guessing since the day I took it," he shot back with a smirk.

Hermione tried counting to ten and it almost worked.

"How long have you had the book?" she asked, her eyes narrowed.

"Since the day after Hogsmeade." he answered with a shrug. "I thought you knew I took it. I asked you if I could borrow it."

"I don't remember that." she said instantly as she thought back to ever conversation that she'd had with him since Hogsmeade.

"Well, I did. Sorry that you don't remember."

Hermione sighed and sat back down with the book. She opened the book and flipped through the pages to make sure they weren't damaged and then, happy with the assessment, set it down on the coffee table.

"How are you?" she asked as he sat down in the chair next to her.

"I'm fine… " he answered warily, looking at her sideways at her suspiciously.

"I'm over the book." she huffed.

"I'm fine. Snape let me make up the work that I missed."

"And didn't give Harry the same option." she pointed out.

"I've been doing well in all my other classes as well." he finished, ignoring her comment. "How have you been?"

"I've been doing rounds by myself for the past week. Do you know that Hufflepuff has had more point's taken off then any other house? It's like they don't know when curfew is."

"I'm sure they know... " He was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Draco shot an annoyed look to the door and then turned to Hermione with a raised eyebrow.

"I didn't invite anyone."

"I'm injured, are you going to get it?" he asked in a pitiful voice. He got a laugh for his troubles before he hauled himself out of the chair and made his way to the door.

"I want to speak to Hermione." Hermione shot her gaze to the door and stared.

"Ron?" she asked quietly, unsure of what to say. It had been weeks since they last spoke.

He stared at her blankly before giving a disgusted look at Draco.

"Move, Malfoy."

"Draco, let Ron in."

Ron pushed past the Head boy and stood in front of Hermione.

"Could I talk to you –" he glared at Draco and added with emphasis "in private?"

Hermione sighed as she saw the look that Draco sent back to Ron but stood up and went to her room.

"You can't take him into your room!" Draco immediately protested when Hermione opened her portrait and motioned for Ron to go in before her.

"Who are you, my father?" she asked with a roll of her eye.

"I'll tell Dumbledore."

"Wait for me in my room, Ron." She said as she ushered him in and the closed the door behind him. "What is your problem?" she asked, rounding on Draco.

"You can not have him in your room." He said again, lifting his chin a bit.

"And why can't I?" she asked.

"Because I said so. It's my common room too, you know."

"My bedroom is not the common room."

"It's close enough." He whined.

"Ever since you were released from the hospital wing you've been acting like a spoilt child. What is your problem?"

"Weaselbee is my problem. You know I don't like him and yet you invite him over and then invite him up to your room!" he exclaimed, glaring at her.

"Why is it any of your business who I invite up to my room?" she asked, truly curious but refusing to admit it.

"I don't need a reason. I'm Head Boy and if I want something to not happen I can make it not happen."

"That makes absolutely sense whatsoever and you know it," she smirked. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a guest."

"You don't have a guest, you have a weasel." the blond clarified quickly.

"I consider him a guest."

"I consider Pansy a guest, then. Can I invite her?" he asked with a smug look. Maybe he thought that she cared about what went on between him and the cow.

"I don't care if you invite the whole Slytherin Quidditch team, as long as they're in your room."

He looked like he'd had the wind taken out of his sails but it got her point across. It was no-one's business who she invited into her private rooms. She was cut off from her train of thought when there was a yell and Draco's door flew open.

"Why the bloody hell do you have this in your room?" he demanded as he stormed toward Draco, a piece of paper clutched in his hand.

"Why were you in my room?"

"Why were you in his room?" Draco and Hermione demanded at the same time.

"That doesn't matter right now. What does matter is what I found. He has your schedule in his room, 'Mione." Ron exclaimed as he waved the piece of parchment in the air.

"He's head boy, he has to know what my schedule is, Ron." she explained slowly, as if talking to a child.

"Then why don't you have one of his?" he asked accusingly. "He's up to something Hermione."

"How do you know that I don't have one of his, Ron? Were you looking through my things?" she asked, horrified at the thought.

Ron turned a bright red and began making excuses, none of which Hermione was in the mood to hear.

"Forget I asked anything, Ron."

"Really, Weasel, I thought you'd be more sensitive towards Granger's personal space."

Hermione glared at Draco at the use of her last name but said nothing and watched as Ron narrowed his eyes at Draco. It was like watching two five year olds fighting over who had the best toy.

"Hermione," Ron groaned, looking at her with pleading eyes.

"Go back into my room and stay there, Ron." she ordered, pointing in the general direction of her room.

"I can't." Hermione gave him a blank stare and tilted her head in annoyance. "I don't have the password."

"It's Emmy." Draco supplied in a smug voice.

Hermione spun around to look at him in shock but soon had her attention focused on Ron, once again.

"So what now, Hermione? You give ferret boy your bloody password but you won't even talk to me. Your best friend?" Ron exploded, stressing the best friend comment a bit too much for Hermione's liking.

"Ron, I don't know how he got my password." She replied honestly.

"Sit down, Hermione. Remember what happened last time he was here?" Draco ordered as he put a hand on the small of her back to guide her to the couch.

"Why is he calling you Hermione? And nothing happened the last time I was here! Why are you letting him tell everyone that I did something bad to you?"

"Ron, please." She sighed as she settled into the couch. "Sit down, we need to talk."

For the first time since he had entered the common room, Ron was silent. He looked at Malfoy then and Hermione and sat down next to her.

"Leave, ferret."

"Stop it, Ron." Hermione snapped, shooting an aggravated look at Ron then turning to give a warning look at Draco. "He already knows so he can stay."

"What does he know that your best friends don't know?" the red head questioned instantly.

"Ron, please."

"Go on, Hermione. He's just like Potter, too nosy for his own good. If you start now he'll stay and listen." Draco sighed as he sat in one of the chairs, his legs slung over one of the arms and his back resting on the other. He leaned his head back and looked over to the couch, where Ron was still sitting looking at Hermione as if she'd lost her mind.

"Thank you, Draco." she said sarcastically, sending him a droll look. He smirked at her but soon returned his attention back to Ron.

"Any time, love." Draco answered with a shrug.

Hermione cringed as she heard the end of the sentence and heard Ron's breath rush out of his lungs.

"Love?" he said in disgust, a look on his face to match his tone.

"That's not important now, Ron." Hermione snapped before she took a calming breath. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you but –"

"Too right you shouldn't have." Ron muttered under his breath, earning a glare from Hermione.

"But I'm nervous about telling you what I have to tell you."

Ron seemed to realize the seriousness that Hermione was trying to convey and moved closer to her, putting an arm around her shoulder and pulling her into a brotherly hug.

"It can't be that bad, 'Mione." he said comfortingly, kissing the top of her head.

"Listen to her story, Weasel; then tell her it can't be that bad." Draco sneered at Ron.

Ron stared at Malfoy in shock then turned back to Hermione. If the Slytherin prince thought what happened to Hermione was bad, chances are it was past bad and already halfway through horrible.

"'Mione." Ron said softly, pulling her tightly against him.

"It's bad, Ron." she said, her tone matching his. "It's so bad." Ron felt his heart clench, she sounded broken.

"Shh, Hermione, it's okay." He hushed her, his hand rubbing her back gently and he laid his cheek on the top of her head. He glanced up and saw Malfoy looking at Hermione with a look in his eyes that Ron had never seen before. It was almost as if he was pained to see her like this. Ron shook his head and looked back to Hermione.

"I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to treat me differently." She started to explain, starting to sob.

"Hermione, no matter what you did, I would never treat you differently; you have to know that by now."

"Yes you will, Ron." She told him; though her broken sobs he could hear her stubbornness.

"Just tell me then, Hermione." he told her, not trying to convince her that his actions towards her wouldn't change.

She was silent for along time and Ron took another glance at Malfoy and saw that he was standing and moving towards Hermione.

"It was a long time ago, I was nine." She started, her sobs had subsided but her voice was shaky. "I was at summer camp and…" she broke off when Malfoy sat beside her but continued when he simply put his hand on her thigh and squeezed gently. "And I came home and I couldn't find my parents. They were there, I knew they were. I'd called them from camp before I left and my dad answered and said everything was okay and my mum was baking my favourite dinner. I can't even remember what it was now." She drifted off into silence once more before she started again, her voice slightly firmer. "I opened the door and called for them but they didn't answer, I should have known something was wrong then, but I was so excited to be back that I didn't even think anything was wrong. I went into the kitchen, then the dining room, then the living room. I didn't see them. I was going upstairs when I finally felt something was wrong. I got a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach as I got to the top of the stairs and that is when I heard it. I heard screaming, but it wasn't really screaming." She broke off and looked at Ron with dampened eyes "Does that make any sense?" she asked, a small sad smile gracing her lips but slipping off instantly. "I heard screaming, but it was muffled. I couldn't understand who would be making that noise so I went and tried to find out where it was coming from. It was in the guest bedroom that I found my mum. She was tied up and her mouth was bound so I couldn't understand her. She was staring behind me and trying to tell me something and I turned around. This…this man was there, staring at me." She shuddered as she remembered the look the man gave her and leaned into Draco when he pulled her away from Ron, whose arm had gone limp when she had started the story. She stopped for a time and Draco cleared his throat quietly.

"You told me he attacked you downstairs, Hermione."

"It was easier to tell you that then tell you the truth." she stated tonelessly.

Draco looked at Weasel and would have laughed at the look of disbelief on his face if he himself hadn't been so uneasy about the rest of the memory Hermione was revealing to them.

"That way I didn't have to think about what he did to me or mum."

Draco hated asking the question but he knew he had to, he was almost sick to his stomach because of what she'd revealed already, but she had to feel ten times worse holding it in.

"What did he do, Hermione?" he asked quietly.

"He…he…" she stuttered, tears falling from her eyes as she began to shake.

"You don't have to tell us, 'Mione." Ron said when she'd started to shake, trying to ease her pain.

"Yes she does, Weasel." Draco snapped, his eyes leaving the girl and glaring at Ron. "She needs to talk about it to get over it." He stated.

"No. She's already…"

"She needs to get it out of her! If she holds it inside nothing will ever get better." Draco argued.

"She's crying, how is that making her better?" Ron blasted, standing up and starting to pace in front of them.

"Haven't you ever seen an emotional woman before?" Draco shot back, his voice holding a tone of disbelief.

"Of course I've seen an emotional woman before." Ron said indignantly.

"Then can't you tell she's emotional about something and needs to get it off of her chest?"

"She can hear you both." Hermione interrupted them both and accompanied the statement with a glare to both of the boy's.

A "Sorry, Hermione." was muttered by both boys, a look of surprise shot at Draco from Ron when he heard him say Hermione's name with out a trace of sarcasm in his voice.

"I know I have to talk about it, Draco, but I can't talk about it anymore tonight."

Hermione took a deep breath and stood up, shaking off the hand Draco put on her arm when she said she wouldn't answer anymore about it. She smiled at Ron and stood in front of him to stop his pacing. He looked down at her with surprise in his eyes, as if he'd forgotten she was there, although Hermione couldn't see how that was possible. She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned forward to rest her head on his chest and smiled when he brought his arms around her and squeezed her tightly before letting her go, his face a pale red.

"Thank you, Ron." She said as she stepped away from him.

He answered with a smile and a brotherly kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you."

She smiled at him and nodded, unsure of exactly how to answer.

"I've got to go." he said when Draco cleared his throat from the couch.

"But…" Hermione said, startled.

"I told Harry I was going to the kitchen to get something to eat." Ron told her sheepishly.

"Ron, why would you do something like that, he's prob…"

"Oh, come on Hermione. Lay off for a little bit." Ron said with a roll of his eyes, though his smile stayed it tacked.

"Fine," she said with mock annoyance.

Ron said good bye once more before turning to go to leave. He was at the door when Hermione thought of something.

"Ron, why did you come here tonight?" she asked as he opened the door and was about to step out.

He turned and looked at her before he answered, his gaze travelling over her shoulder every so often. "Some one pointed something out to me I didn't look at before." he said with a shrug before turning around and leaving, closing the door behind him.

Hermione was confused by the answer and turned to ask Draco what he thought but was brought up short when she saw him smiling over her shoulder, where Ron had been moments before.

"Why are you smiling?" she asked, suspicious but not exactly sure why.

Draco wiped the smile off of his face and stared back at her innocently. "What are you talking about?" he asked, a feigned look of confusion on his face.

Hermione sported a genuine look of confusion and looked from the door to him before she sat down next to him.

"Did you really ask me if you could borrow the book?" she asked, changing the subject. She knew the topic of the whole smile deal was slammed closed for now.

He shot her a sideways glance but looked back at the empty fireplace with a smirk before answering. "No, but it sounded better to say I did."